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As a vegetarian since I was 8, I'm always looking for new ways to add extra protein into my meals. I have no idea what took me so long to make some protein balls as snacks but I am so happy I finally did! Here's my recipe for these delish little snacks!

What I did first, was make a base for the balls that way I could make multiple different flavored treats!

I threw it all into one bowl & mixed it up really well. You want to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.

From there, I separated my based into 3 bowls. I wanted to try out 3 different kinds of flavors that all worked well with my base!

Bowl 1:- Chocolate chips

Bowl 2:-Dried Cranberries-Chopped almonds

Bowl 3:- Chopped walnuts-Shredded coconut

Once you've mixed in your different toppings, throw your bowls into the refrigerator for about a half hour! You want them to be a little bit firmerso that making the balls will be easier.

Then you just roll 'em! I was able to get 5 balls from each bowl but your sizes may vary.

ou don't need them too big because they are pretty filling! I pop 2 at a time for snacks & they get me through that lagging part of the day.

They're super tasty, super easy & I love how you can mix & match with different flavors. I used ingredients I happened to have on hand at the time so I need to brainstorm other varieties!

The thing that I love about these aside from versatility, is they're such a quick snack to make. You make them on a Sunday & you have a snack for your entire week (you can store them in your fridge for about 7-10 days). They're little, but filling & I feel like you can experiment with them so that there is something for everybody!

It's a great way to add a little more protein & yumminess into my diet!

Ah, to be young, single & living in a world where most people are glued to a screen of any kind. Myself included too many times.

You might be thinking, well then dating has to be easy. We are so connected, yet for me it's not the connection in the ways I want.

I have a handful of friends who have tried online dating with various results. My friends who have been in relationships for years encourage me to try it.

And I have.

It might not have been a super fair shot, but I gave it what I could. I downloaded a few suggested apps, set up my very perfect profiles with the best of the best photos of me. Every day, I'd log in- usually when I woke up & at night. And I hated it.

Absolutely hated it.

Everybody keeps telling me that I need to try harder, I need to keep doing it, spend more time on them. But why the heck would I keep doing something I hated so much? That made me feel so scummy & uncomfortable?

For me, you don't get a good sense of a person when you click on their profile. Everybody puts in their best qualities, funny jokes, anything to make them appealing. Their pictures are the ones that make them look the best & lets be honest- we don't always look great, we don't always act awesome. For me, it was always so fake & I say that because even though I wanted to be real- it was hard to honestly be that way.

The difference for me, is when you go on a first date with somebody you didn't meet online (and in my case, I have already met in person); you're still going to dress up a little nicer, make sure you're put together & you're always going to try and be charming. Then when you're face to face with a person- looking right at them, you get a sense of who they are. You get a feeling- whether it's something you want to peruse or not. Whereas when I'm looking at somebody's profile, I get nothing; I feel nothing.

I was explaining it to one of my best friends not that long ago who has had success from online dating as she was encouraging me to try again. I enjoy perusing guys & making the first move. I don't do it often because I'm ridiculously picky- so if I give you my number, know that you are one of the few guys who has gotten the honor. I enjoy meeting people out & about in different settings. If I'm attracted to you and there is something slightly different & interesting about you; I want to get to know you more.

It's because when I see you not glued to a screen, I see how you interact with your peers, your co-workers, & other people. I get that first impression in person in which I will base my initial opinion of you on. It is when I get a sense of who you are; face to face, that I want to get to know you more even without reading your carefully written bio on your profile.

And I don't see what's wrong about that. Why people find that my being picky means I'm not trying hard enough. I don't see why I should go on dates with guys I'm not interested in. Why is it ok for me to waste my valuable time to appease others views on my love life? I shouldn't have to hide behind an app on my phone for hours searching for guys that may or may not intrigue me. That does not sound appealing to me., I have other things to do like work full time, run a business, run a huge fundraising event & find time for myself, my family & my friends.

When I look back at my past relationships or hook ups, just about all of them I have met face to face first & felt that there was something about them that sparked something in me. I trust when friends or family want to set me up with somebody too. They know me and they know the guy they want to set me up with. I can hear all about them from reliable people, see fun pictures from adventures they have & get an immediate sense of who they are just based on the people who love him. That's important to me too because the way others talk about you is such a strong reflection on the person you are.

I have not been successful at dating- that's why I'm still single. My friends who are in relationships do enjoy hearing stories from their one single friend & trust me, I give them hilarious stories. I think it reminds them how lucky they should be to be in loving relationships (not that being single is a bad thing- but webs of guys, that can be tricky).

My more old fashion approach might be frowned upon these days, but it's what works for me & it's what I feel comfortable with. I'm beyond tired of people trying to tell me I need to try harder & that online dating is apparently the only way to go- especially when they have never had to do it for themselves. I'm tired of being feeling bad for me because I'm still single- trust me, it's not always as bad as you're imagining. I'm tired of people thinking I need to find my other half because the way I look at it - I'm not a half; I'm quite whole. I'm tired of people thinking that just because I'm 27, that I want to get married right away & start a family- trust me when I say, I'm more than content with where I am in my life as a single lady.

What I want is for people to trust my judgment, my comfort zone, my outlook on life & believe that just because I now refuse to download an app to find love, that oddly enough, I'm pretty confident love will come my way one of these days. It's as simple as that!

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I love this simple craft! It's something you can do in no time, you can recycle old bottles to do it & the materials to dress it up are all inexpensive!

I used a jar I got on sale for $1 for this & I picked up a few additional things I'd need like paint, tacky glue, twine (which I happened to have already) and a few different wooden pieces to choose from. You can really make this your own! If you have empty wine bottles for example, you can use them!

Or you can remove wax from old candle jars & re-use those too! To see an easy way to remove wax from candles,click here.

​The first step I did was adding the twine. I measured my twine first by wrapping it around my jar until I got the desired width. Then, I took a paint brush and brushed on the tacky glue right onto the jar roughly as wide as the twine was going to be.

The nice thing about tacky glue is that it dries clear & is really easy to peel off glass once it's dry. So don't worry if there's excess glue on the jar, you'll be able to clean it up!

​The next step is to wrap your twine around the glue. Hold one end on the jar & start to wrap tightly around the jar. You can make adjustments as needed-pushing the stacks of twine closer together or starting over if needed.

While that was drying, I painted my heart quick & let that dry too which was only a few minutes. What I suggest is making sure the wooden piece you're adding is the size you want. I was too excited about it and just glued it on. I wish my heart was a little smaller on such a narrow jar- but I still think it came out nice!

Once you're ready to glue- lay your jar down & put on some tacky glue. You don't need as much as I used- I went glue happy for a minute there.

Then place your wooden piece on & let it lay there to dry. Once it's dry; you're done!

You can do this with any bottle, jar or vase! You can even reuse a candle holder & make a new candle! This is another great craft to do with kids or friends! Enjoy!

Back in college, one of my best friends Siobhan was having a closet space crisis. She had too many clothes & she realized she wasn't even wearing a lot of them.

So I challenged her to a purging challenge. The deal was, she wasn't allowed to repeat tops until she either went through all her clothes or couldn't do it anymore. What was up for grabs? A 6 pack of course! We had some rules that this was only for the week days & she was allowed to borrow a top once a week.

When she wore a shirt & realized she didn't like it or how it fit, it never made it back to the closet. It sat on her chair until the end of the challenge. Then, she had a great big pile of stuff to donate when she was through!

About 2 years ago, I decided I needed to the same thing. My closet was over flowing, granted I have a very small closet- but I was also realizing I was barely wearing so many of my clothes that I actually liked. I was just grabbing the same go to clothes all the time & I was over it!

So I took the purging challenge & it was a success. I barely got rid of anything however, but I was reminded how much I liked certain tops or dresses. It took me months though, literally months! And there were some days where I had weird combination outfits on, but I was successful!

I recently realized I was running out of room, again & needed to something about it. But when I just look at my clothes, I feel this weird attachment to them & can't just toss a lot of them.

So it's another round of the purging challenge! If you're in the same boat as me, you should try it too!

There are the rules I go by to keep myself going:1. The purge includes: tops, dresses & skirts2. This doesn't include super seasonal items if in off season. i.e. winter sweaters during a summer purge3. Also excluded are your fancy attire or non every day wear clothing items4. Basic cardigans can be re-worn as can your camisoles5. You can layer tops & it counts as a one time wear6. When you're not feeling something, you put it aside right away and donate it!

I think it's a fun way to go through basically your entire wardrobe! I left my tops, dresses & skirts that I had worn, downstairs in the laundry room unwashed until I went through everything. That way, I couldn't cheat! You can also do a mini seasonal purge with sweaters, or tank tops or anything!

I felt really good when it was done- I had a weird sense of accomplishment! There were crazy days where I did not like how I looked or felt but those were the days I knew that to was not getting back in my closet!

Ahhh, the final cork board craft we tried! This one was my second favorite & it involved chalkboard paint! I actually haven't played around with chalkboard paint much either, so I was curious to see how well it worked on the cork.

This one was the easiest out of them all. Simply get your cork, your chalkboard paint & a paint brush. Brush a couple of coats onto the cork & you're done! According to the directions on the chalkboard paint I used, you had to let it sit for 24 hours before you can use chalk on it.

Because I loved the cork boards in the frames (and I had 3 to use), I framed mine. I mean, why the heck not?

The only thing about this, was the fact that it didn't totally erase. I'm guessing that because the cork isn't completely smooth a lot of the chalk gets stuck in it's crevices. So when I erased what I wrote- it left a lot of chalk residue. So there is that! But, I never remember chalkboards ever being super perfectly clean!

I had a lot of fun playing with cork! I hope you try out some of these too!!

Author

My name is Kristina and I'm the founder of Love Struck. Read about how Love Struck came to be, see how I make it happen or just read a random thought I just might have! Anything can happen at our blog & I wouldn't have it any other way! It's time to get Love Struck, and what better way to start than right here!